Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Illinois man orders custom beer-can coffin

Bill Bramanti poses with a coffin he had specially made to look like a can of his favorite beer, Pabst Blue Ribbon, in Chicago Heights, Ill., on Saturday. While he doesn't need the coffin just yet, he's planning to use the casket as a cooler

The 67-year-old Glenwood village administrator doesn't plan on needing it anytime soon, though.

He threw a party Saturday for friends and filled his silver coffin — designed in Pabst's colors of red, white and blue — with ice and his favorite brew."Why put such a great novelty piece up on a shelf in storage when you could use it only the way Bill Bramanti would use it?" said Bramanti's daughter, Cathy Bramanti, 42.

Bramanti ordered the casket from Panozzo Bros. Funeral Home in Chicago Heights, and Scott Sign Co. of Chicago Heights designed the beer can.

Friday, December 26, 2008

“Wormy Trip” is Bluegrass Brewing Company’s latest specialty beer to be released.“Wormy Trip” is a Belgian Trippel bittered with Wormwood (Artemsia absinthium) a bracingly bitter, clean flavored herb.The beer is brewed with 100% Pilsner malt with additions of Belgian candy sugar and honey.“Wormy Trip” is high in alcohol and golden in color with softly melding sweet, dry and bitter flavors and a powerful fruity and complex aroma.

ABV10.2%

IBU24

OG21.5

Absinthe Tasting

BBC will also host an Absinthe tasting on the night of the “Wormy Trip” unveiling because of the similarities in ingredients.Absinthe originated in France in the late 18th century and became popular very quickly with artists and literati.(Degas, Van Gogh, Toulousse-Lautrec, and nowadays Johnny Depp)Absinthe is made from liquor distilled from neutral grain spirits and herbs, most importantly “The Holy Trinity” Wormwood, Anise and Fennel.Absinthe is uniquely served in a tulip glass with ice water dripped over a sugar cube into the absinthe, creating a refreshing drinkable mixture.

The celebration will begin at 5pm and last until closing.The band “Hello Darlins” will be having a CD release party as well with music beginning at 10:30.

Friday, December 12, 2008

For those of you who don't keep up with the latest in technology, it was recently announced that NASA has perfected a new water purification system that collects astronauts' urine and turns it into drinking water. NASA needs this technology because water is one of the most cumbersome and expensive payloads for manned space missions, approaching a cost of $40,000 per gallon. This new water recovery system, which will be located on the international space station, will cut the volume of water hauled into space by two-thirds, freeing up room on the space shuttle for four more astronauts.

This was all interesting when I read it in the newspaper, but I wondered what was the story behind the scenes at NASA, and how they developed this urine purifying devece. For those of you who would also like the inside story, urine luck, because the Sober Brewer's inside sources run deep at NASA.

One of the engineers working on the project agreed to speak to me on the record. Dr. Irwin P. Freely Pee hD informed me that the idea for the purification system was spawned during a night of heavy drinking at the Sugar Shack in Tempe, AZ. Dr. Freely and his other NASA cohorts decided to try and sober up by switching to American light lagers. Dr. Freely got a bottle of Coors light and took a drink. "It tasted as though someone had just peed into my mouth... How can a brewery take clean drinking water and turn it into urine?" And that, Freely said was the genesis of the idea. "What we did at NASA was what you laypeople might call 'hijacking technology' while we call it reverse engineering." Freely continued, "The good folks at Coors have been changing water to urine for decades, we can just follow that pathway backwards."

I thought it was fascinationg how once again the American macrobrew industry is helping advance civilization. The Sober Brewer salutes you Coors light, and your contribution to the space program. After all this I asked Dr. Freely how the recycled urine tastes, he said that it is ninty-nine percent pure but it has a little Tang to it.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Bluegrass Brewing Company (Shelbyville Road) will celebrate the repeal of Prohibition on Friday, December 5th, with nickel beers. The festivities will include a free soup kitchen, BBC employees dressed in 1920’s apparel, and 1920’s era music to help set the ambiance.

The 18th amendment to the constitution banned all alcohol sales. This “prohibition” lasted for 13 years, from 1920 – 1933. The 21st amendment was enacted on December 5th 1933 and repealed the 18th amendment. The 21st amendment is the only amendment to the constitution that specifically repeals another amendment. BBC will halt alcohol sales for 13 minutes from 5:47 pm until 6:00 pm to simulate the 13 years of alcohol prohibition. From 6:00 pm until 7:00 pm we will celebrate with 1920s prices of nickel beers. The free soup kitchen will consist of bean soup and corn bread and will run from 6:00 pm until the soup runs out.

This annual celebration is one of Bluegrass Brewing Company’s most popular events so come out and join in the festivities. For more information please contact BBC at 899-7070.